RIYADH, 31 May 2003 — Saudi Arabia has been nominated by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to coordinate environmental programs and help in organizing the fifth World Parks Congress in South Africa later this year.
On behalf of the Kingdom, the Riyadh-based National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD) will participate in the event.
The 10-day congress, to be inaugurated on Sept. 8 this year, will provide a major global forum to develop an agenda for the world’s protected areas, according to a press statement released here.
Saudi Arabia’s NCWCD has already set up a network of 15 protected areas including the 640,000 square kilometer Ar-Rub Al-Khali Wildlife Management Area, the second largest protected area in the world after Greenland National Park.
This Saudi environmental agency also plans to set up some marine protected areas in addition to the existing three marine protected areas established by the NCWCD. They will be part of the 16 candidate sites to be developed as protected areas on priority basis.
The IUCN, with over 980 members in 140 countries including Saudi Arabia, seeks to support global alliances to safeguard natural resources at local, regional and global levels.
